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The project generates cash and could be replicated to save other endangered butterflies, say Butterfly Conservation

One of the UK's most critically endangered butterflies is making a comeback thanks to a profit making partnership between private landowners and conservation organizations.

The heath fritillary -- a rare species exclusive to the south of England that thrives in cleared woodland environments -- has declined sharply over the past 25 years as forest clearing has become less common.

But population numbers are on the rise again after the introduction of a forestry management scheme that enables rural landowners to cash in by creating butterfly habitats on their property.

"We were down to 12 colonies (of heath fritillary) in 1995 and most of those were very small," says Dr. Martin Warren, chief executive of Butterfly Conservation, the organization behind the projects implementation.

"Since then we've been able to work with landowners to get the management back up again and we are now looking at 25 colonies in the same area."

"A lot of this is about persuasion," says Warren. "You have to deal with loads of different people who all have their own agenda and financial constraints."

"When you go in there and say 'there is a rare butterfly on your land' you can sometimes get a very bad response," he adds.

Although Warren admits the profit margins remain relatively small at this stage and that the scheme itself relies on grants from the Forestry Commission to break even, he sees potential for much larger projects in the future.